cultural hacker

As some of you may know, I started an open source project for content creators called the Workbook Project. Well, this fall will mark the project’s two year anniversary. The birth of the project stemmed from an unlikely source. I was offered an advance by a publisher to write a book about the production and distribution of my films; THE LAST BROADCAST and HEAD TRAUMA. Instead of writing the book I decided to embark on an experiment. I wanted to see if I could make money from giving away the information for free. The goal was to create an open repository of information and resources that at its core would be new models for funding, creating, distributing, and sustaining one’s self as a storyteller. Well I’m happy to say the project has exceeded my expectations. Not only have I long passed the amount of the advance, due to opportunities afforded to me thanks to the project, but I’ve also met some amazing people along the way. Today the Workbook Project has contributors from all over the world and in the coming months will be growing in some new and exciting ways.

We recently entered a new phase of the project where we’ve put some of our concepts and theories to the test. One such concept deals with a new type of model for festivals. A model where movies can day and date at the time when they have the most exposure - during their festival run. From Here to Awesome is a discovery and distribution fest that day and dates films in theaters, living rooms, online and via mobile devices, with the goal of creating a direct connection between filmmaker and audience. This past spring over 115 projects submitted to the fest which has no submission fees, allows filmmakers to retain all their rights while seeing 90 to 100% of the profit from various outlets. All the films are programmed based on audience demand and outlets include Amazon, Vudu, Joost, Hulu, Heretic, IndieFlix, Vuze, Caachi, and Bside. More outlets will be added in the coming months. The festival kicked off in July and will run until the end of December.

Throughout FHTA’s run we will be experimenting with new models and concepts for the discovery and distribution of films. The picture above is from last week’s San Francisco theatrical on-demand (entitled you’re the festival programmer) experiment where audience members used mobile phones to vote for the films they wanted to see. “You’re the Festival Programmer” was made possible thanks to CineGoGo, myspace, and FHTA. For more details on FHTA visit the official site.

The second part of the experiment is an open discussion about the future of the industry that travels to LA, SF, Boston, NYC and London. DIY DAYS is the sharing of information and ideas in a real world setting. Capacity crowds have filled the first two stops in LA and SF, as an amazing list of speakers have shared their knowledge. The events are all free and are presented by Current TV, the Workbook Project and FHTA.

Each DIY DAYS event attempts to build upon the last, while trying to infuse some aspect of the location where it is taking place. The marathon days are filled with keynotes, panels, workshops, and case studies of people making interesting work. For more info visit DIYDAYS.com

Our goal is to share all our findings at our final stop in London. During the Power to the Pixel conference we’ll present the results and also share the roadmap for the larger open source project that we’re building.

Special thanks to Mike Hedge for all the photos!

I’m in Boston for ARGFest-o-con, a conference for all things ARG. Later today I’ll be speaking about extending the media experience.

9:15 - 10:00 ARGs and Extended Media Experiences
Evan Jones, Moderator; Yomi Ayeni, Blair Erickson, Elan Lee, Lance Weiler, panelists

Alternate reality gaming and traditional media have always had an interesting relationship, and extended media experiences are an important part of the history of ARGs. This panel features experts in creating extended experiences for all types of media, including television, film, and video games.

There are so many exciting things happening in the independent gaming scene. It calls to mind what indie film was like in the mid to late 90’s, when technology became accessible and anyone with a camera and a story could make a film. Something that I find of particular interest is how gaming allows audiences the abitily to role-play and shape the storyworld as it evolves in real-time. This creates an organic two-sided conversation with the audience. Something that can build a strong tie between the people running the game and its players.

But when I discuss gaming with other filmmakers, I’ve found that there is confusion around the term. It tends to evoke images of first person shooters or franchises like Grand Theft Auto. In reality gaming is play and play is at its core a social experience. In fact there has been an exciting shift within the gaming industry as can be seen with experiential games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, flOw, and Spore.

But that is within the console world. Lurking below the surface is a whole movement of people designing storyworlds. The tools for creating something like an ARG are basic and accessible. Back in 1996 when we launched the site for my first feature film, The Last Broadcast we created a fictional world that was presented as fact, a way for us to extended the world of the film. In a sense that was an ARG. With the release of my latest feature Head Trauma, we created a storyworld that involved an interactive graphic novel, physical comics, alternate soundtracks (that secretly lined up with scenes from the film), phone calls / text messages from characters and even a separate web series with subliminal clues that was related loosely to the film. (see Hope is Missing)

What I’ve learned from the creation of these storyworlds is that they mirror the way many people are consuming their entertainment. The fragmentation of the digital space is a perfect opportunity to tell stories in new ways. And I can honestly say it has presented me an interesting and cost effective way to reach and engage my audience. The gaming that I’ve done around Head Trauma has been experienced by millions of people - far more than it would have reached in traditional outlets.

Related:
ARGnet
Unficiton
ARGfest-o-con
Unvierse creation 101

NYC has a new celebration of all things web and it’s called Internet Week. I’ve been invited to speak on a panel about online short form content. And the topic got me thinking - what exactly is online short form content? In the traditional sense, it’s a web series or short work which is typically a passive experience. A one-sided conversation where the creator of the work is speaking to the audience and any feedback is regulated to simple rating systems, static comments or the random video response. Nothing against passive viewing it can be a wonderful experience with the right story but could new models for the funding, production and distribution of short form content rest in the hands of the audience itself?

Over the last few years, I’ve been exploring the creation of worlds around the stories that I’m telling. At the core of each story is something that can be social - something that can take on a life of its own. For example, over the last 8 weeks we’ve been running a social game centered around the release of Hammer Film’s latest feature. The social entertainment experience around the Beyond the Rave series / game has been a wonderful look into social habits and media consumption behaviors. Both have a loyal base and we’ve seen strong social engagement around the content. On average players are spending about 6 hours a week playing. In many cases individual gaming sessions are lasting an hour or more. Some have transformed their myspace profile pages into game boards. Their top friends slots filled with characters and locations from the game in order to see when a “game” profile signs on. Players are making friends, contributing fan fiction and creating their own characters within the game world. And just last week two players that meet through the game a mere 8 weeks got engaged. The engagement was announced in the game forum and the wedding is scheduled for later this year. The happy couple will be married by a minister who is also a player.

Game trailer for BTR

Now some might call some of the above behavior obsessive. And I’ve lost count the times I’ve heard the question - “but how do people have time?” But the answer is quite simple. People are finding their entertainment in new ways. Often online content tries to emulate traditional models hoping for that one breakout that they can hang a model on. But maybe what seems to be obsessive could in fact be a segment of the audience telling us what they really want. Maybe the new models rest in their hands.

Some other related online efforts:

A UK release of HEAD TRAUMA is in the works. We’ll be rolling out a new and improved cinema ARG that will have the film spilling into theaters, living rooms, and online all at the same time.

FHTA the discovery and distribution festival that I co-founded with Arin Crumley and M dot Strange has secured over 12 digital outlets in addition to 25 theatrical venues in multiple countries for the top 10 shorts and features. In addition, FHTA will be holding live events in LA and SF called DIY DAYS. Produced in conjunction with Current TV, DIY DAYS will be series of panels, workshops, and case studies with people doing interesting projects in the tech, gaming, and entertainment space.